More than 36 million Americans are affected by a hearing impairment that is sufficiently profound as to prevent them from enjoying television, music, and other audio programs and/or from hearing in public meetings, church services, theater events, and the like. Hearing deficiencies can range from partial to complete hearing loss. Often, an individual's hearing ability varies across the range of audible sound frequencies, and many individuals have hearing impairment with respect to only some acoustic frequencies. For example, an individual's hearing loss may be greater at higher frequencies than at lower frequencies.
Hearing assistance devices such as hearing aids have been developed to compensate for hearing losses in individuals. Hearing aids are small electronic devices which can be hidden behind the ear, in the ear, partially in the ear canal, or completely in the ear canal. In general, such a device acquires sound that arrives at the user's ear, converts that sound to an electronic signal, amplifies the electronic signal, and sends the amplified electronic signal to a speaker in or adjacent the wearer's ear. In that way, the volume of the initial sound acquired by the hearing aid is increased, allowing the wearer's diminished hearing to hear the sound if the volume has been sufficiently increased. However, such hearing aids also amplify background noise and/or other undesired sounds that are necessarily present in the real world along with conversation or other sounds desired to be heard by the wearer. Additionally, such hearing aids can on occasion feedback, creating an unpleasant squeal. Furthermore, the electronic parts of such hearing aids can also be negatively affected by external devices or interference.
To overcome these problems, current hearing aids have adjustable operational parameters that can be configured by a hearing specialist to enhance the performance of the hearing aid. Many hearing aids provide a wide range of processing types and settings that may require extended interaction with the wearer and their environment to customize the device for the specific wearer. To customize a hearing aid, the hearing specialist will either spend a significant amount of time assisting the wearer with fine-tuning, or the wearer is given a portable device to fine-tune the hearing aid on their own. As a result, hearing aids and the process of obtaining and customizing the hearing aids are complex and expensive. According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Diseases, of the 36 million Americans who might benefit from a hearing aid, only about 20 percent actually obtain and use one. This is believed to largely due to the high price of hearing aids.
Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAP) are also available to consumers. PSAP are defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as wearable electronic products that are intended to amplify sound for people who are not hearing impaired. They are not hearing aids, which the FDA describes as intended to compensate for impaired hearing. PSAP are not intended to treat hearing impairment, they are intended to provide assistance to consumers who struggle with communication. Thus, for some individuals PSAP are useful alternatives to hearing aids. Because they do not require a medical prescription and professional fitting like required for hearing aids, PSAP have been described as the audio version of nonprescription reading glasses.
PSAP have grown in popularity among some people with hearing impairment, in part because PSAP are less expensive than custom hearing aids, although apathy, vanity and difficulty scheduling appointments with audiologists also have been cited as reasons for low hearing aid adoption. Because they do not require medical examination and fitting, PSAP range from as little as fifty to several hundred dollars in price, while custom hearing aids cost about fourteen hundred dollars on average and are not covered by Medicare and many insurance plans. As much as seventy percent of the final price of a hearing aid can be accounted for by additional services from audiologists that are bundled into the price.
Many PSAP are sold direct to the consumer through online stores, mail order catalogs, etc. PSAP are available from a variety of manufacturers having a wide range of products that vary in price and performance. Simple models typically just amplify sound while more sophisticated designs provide directional microphones and customizable equalization of the audio signal to clear up ambient or extraneous noise. The more advanced PSAP contain much of the same technology found in hearing aids. As a result, consumers must select from a wide array of available PSAP without the assistance of a medical professional or other forms of assistance.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for consumer screening, selecting, recommending, and/or selling PSAP to consumers who struggle with communication.